Olive Garden is under fire for kicking out a police officer on his birthday because he was carrying a gun

Olive Garden is under fire after one of its restaurants refused
to serve an on-duty police officer because he was carrying a gun.

Kansas City Police Officer Michael Holsworth says he went to
Olive Garden on Sunday with his family to celebrate his birthday
when an employee demanded that he leave because of his firearm,
according to the Kansas City Star.

Holsworth was on duty and wearing his police uniform,
he wrote on Facebook in a post that has been shared more than
12,000 times.

His family was late to arrive, so he was waiting for them at the
front of the restaurant when an employee walked up to him and
said, "Sir, we don't allow guns in here," according to Holsworth.

"I actually thought it was a joke at first, so I asked her, 'Are
you serious?'" he wrote. "She replied back with 'Yes.' So I told
her, 'Well, I can leave I guess.' She then replied back, 'Yes,
please leave.'"

Olive Garden has since apologized for the incident.

"Officer Holsworth’s experience was unacceptable and completely
inconsistent with how we treat members of law enforcement," Olive
Garden spokesman Rich Jeffers told Business Insider. "Police
officers are always welcome at Olive Garden. They serve our
communities, and we love serving them."

Jeffers said the company's president, Dave George, has personally
called Holsworth to apologize.

The company has also reached out to Kansas City Fraternal Order
of Police president Brad Lemon, who tweeted about the incident on
Sunday evening and said the chain should be ashamed.

@olivegarden Today a uniformed officer was told that he had to leave your Independence Mo store because he had a gun. You should be ashamed